Shelter of the Dead
by black hearted evil
Summary: After defeating Eggman, the group finds themselves having to stay in a strange house. Why is this house so important? Who lives in it?
1. The House's Horrors

**It's for the halloween spirit... okay? **

**Max belongs to DF, Vinny to V.B., Relinka to GHH, and Kai's mine... (DF and V.B., tell me what your characters are afraid of! The most! And be serious...)**

"There! Look, shelter! Everybody in!" Knuckles yelled. It was raining and the group had just finished a fight with Eggman. They had been drenched, running around in the rain in search of shelter. The floorboards sounded as they entered. It was pitch black inside. The old, withered windows were closed but wind somehow managed to keep the curtains afloat.

"We might have to stay here for the night... it might flood outside..." Shadow said, staring outside the creaking windows.

Kai gasped upon entering the house. "Knuckles! We can't stay here! This is-" Knuckles cut her off.

"A shelter is a shelter, Kai... no matter how 'scary' it may be..." Knuckles said, pointing around to prove nothing was there.

"What are you guys doing here?" a candlelit person walked down the stairs.

Knuckles quickly turned to find that the white echidna was not holding the candle, rather, the candle was following him, floating right behind his head. They found it rather dark before finding Relinka, now the candle was afloat behind him lit up the room. Relinka stayed above the steps.

"I ask again... why are you here?" he asked, eyes bored into Knuckles's.

Sonic sighed. "What do you think?"

Relinka stepped in front of them all. The floor glowed green and the candlelight faded away. A circle formed on the floor, it glowed green and a star formed inside it.

"You shouldn't have picked this shelter..." Relinka said in a hushed voice. Kai nodded in agreement.

"W-w-well, why not?" Rouge asked, a bit pissed off.

"Well... for instance... this place... is filled... with the dead..." as Relinka spoke, the front doors slammed shut, leaving only the green light filling the house.

"Relinka... stop fooling around... open the door!" Max and Vinny yelled in unison. They exchanged glances, finding looks of fear on their faces.

"It's true..." everyone found Kai whispering.

"Why the **hell** are you guys whispering?" Knuckles asked angrily.

"Because... you'll wake the dead..." Kai shot her head up.

**So, what did you think? I updated in school, so... I can't read my reviews till later... V.B. and DF, you better tell me what your OC's are afraid of! Oh... Jayln, if you want, I'll give you 2-3 days... if you can get Jayln's fear in, she'll be in here...**

**Review please!**


	2. Here For A Week, Gone In A Minute

**I'm so happy! Yesterday, I got 3 pillowcases full of candy! Anyway, plenty of Halloween spirit left in me, so plenty of updates… cool, huh?**

"Right… really, Relinka, open the door!" Knuckles yelled angrily.

Relinka looked over at Knuckles. Relinka's eyes showed no emotion or feeling and they were white… all white, not showing the silver pupils he owned. "I cannot… the spirits will not allow it…" he said, having a possessed voice. It seemed as if he had talked with two voices.

"What the HELL? Just run for your fucking lives!" Max screamed, running up to the front door. "What in the world are you doing? Let us out!" she yelled.

Kai grabbed her by the arm. "Sorry, Max… but, Relinka's right… the spirits won't allow it… and since **he's** the guardian of our village and this house… the spirits use him to talk to others." Kai said.

Vinny was shaking, holding onto Sonic's arm. Sonic's eyes roamed around the house.

"Why is this house so important? What's wrong with it?" Sonic asked in a shaky voice.

"There's nothing wrong with it… it's just that… you know what? Never mind, everyone, let's just take a rest… I need a good sleep…" Kai muttered.

Relinka nodded. The rest followed Kai and Relinka, since they knew more about the house than any of them.

"Well, Kai, can you tell me a story… to help me sleep?" Charmy asked Kai.

Kai then stared at Charmy. "So young… in a house of the dead…" she whispered.

"Wha-?" Charmy asked slowly.

"Oh nothing… I'd be happy to tell you a story!" Kai said with a smile.

"Great!" Charmy said happily.

Relinka pointed out the empty rooms. Knuckles felt a million eyes fall on him as he entered… but there was no one there. He took a look around the room he was assigned to. It was an old room, the windows were shut close, and the floorboards just like downstairs, the full moon shining brightly. Although the windows were slammed shut, the curtains were floating up and down, as if some wind pushed it away from the frosted windows.

"Okay… let's start with this… there once was a village named Onyxia… the village had more than one name… but, let's just call it Onyxia." Kai said.

Charmy's door was slightly ajar. He felt a small slight wind pass by the door and he turned to find nothing. "Well… maybe it was just my imagination… anyway, keep going, Kai!" he said with a smile, slightly frightful of the house.

"Well, the village of Onyxia kept their dead… it was a scary experience for the younger kids… but, as they grew older, they understood…" Kai mumbled.

Knuckles roamed around the room. It seemed strangely quiet. He then heard the quietest thing ever, a sob, a cry out in the obscurity.

"What... was that? Is anyone there?" he called out into the darkness.

He quickly turned around, looking in all places possible. _What is this? I've always been told… that fear just dulls your senses, completely destroys them… but, what I truly think is that fear actually **sharpens** your senses… you have an acute sense of hearing… a sharp eye, for… everything around you…_

Knuckles peeked outside his door. The hallway was dark and quiet. He then took a candle from his room and stepped out into the hallway. "H-h-hello?" he whispered out loud.

He continued down the dark hallway, watching his steps in front of him, making sure he was safe. Knuckles also turned to see behind him a few times to see if anyone was following him.

As he got closer to the end of the hallway, the cries grew louder... and they weren't normal cries, either. From Knuckles's point of view, they sounded to be in pain, in anguish. Near the end of the hallway, he found one open door, it was the room Charmy was in. Knuckles stood outside of the room, trying to hear what was going on inside.

"And, in Onyxia, the spirits, they never counted it as a curse if you happen to find one... it'd be a blessing... unless you don't live in Onyxia, then... then, the spirits find you strange, and begin to curse you, ridicule you, begin to-" Kai had stopped talking. Her eyes slowly roamed. She then stood up.

Knuckles took a small peek inside the door. "What's going on in there?" he whispered to himself.

"Sorry, Charmy... I have to go... I'll finish tomorrow, sorry!" Kai rushed.

"How do you know we'll be here tomorrow?" Charmy asked.

Kai took a look outside his window, it still rained as hard as ever. She then closed the curtains. "Well, judging from the rain, we might be here all **week**..." Kai said.

Kai then headed for the door. She found Knuckles standing out in the hallway.

"The spirits do what?" Knuckles asked her with a serious face.

"I thought you didn't believe in such things..." Kai whispered.

"Please, just tell me, spirits do what?" Knuckles asked again. He grabbed her right arm.

Kai shrugged his hand off of her arm. "I need to go..."

She then walked to the end of the hallway and turned the corner. Knuckles sighed, running after her. He turned the corner to find a dead end... and no Kai.

"Huh? W-w-where'd she go?" Knuckles searched around for any doors, windows or any openings. He found nothing... at least, he thought he didn't. On the verge of giving up, he heard a cry. It sounded like a young woman, sobbing.

"H-h-hello?" Knuckles said out loud.

He turned away from the dead end, to face a door. He walked closer to it, looking back to see if Kai was there. He found nothing once more. Knuckles touched the doorknob and it was cold as ice. He shivered from the fear and the freezing feeling.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked.

Knuckles quickly turned around to find Relinka standing behind him.

"How'd you get here? I shoulda heard you... or... or... or seen you!" Knuckles said.

Relinka shook his head, talking Knuckles's hands off of the doorknob. "Go back to sleep, Knux..." Relinka sighed.

Knuckles sighed... _Well, if Kai's right, there's always tomorrow..._

**Done! Review please!**


	3. Darkened Skies, Shadowed Stories

**(evil laugh) I can't believe how many people find this creepy and/or scary! Oh, GHH is better at writing horror than me, so if you want a good chill, persuade HIM to write one…**

**(ahem) Vinny belongs to V.B., Relinka to GHH, Max to DF, and Kai to me!**

Knuckles woke up in the bedroom he was assigned to. His eyes pointed over to the window where he found a dark, gloomy day. It was still raining and this time, there was thunder and lightning.

He slowly stood up, staring at the windows. The curtains were still blowing up and down, but the windows were shut closed. Knuckles pondered over this, he walked over to the window. _Hmm… no cracks in the window… it seems to be locked… and there's no vent here or anything… so why is this curtain still-_

His thought process was cut off by a voice. "Knuckles, don't you want to eat?"

Knuckles quickly turned around to find the white echidna there, standing besides the door. "How do you get around so quietly? I mean, the floorboards creak all the time!" Knuckles said, a bit confused.

Relinka put a smile on and then shrugged. Knuckles attempted to shake his troubles again once more. He then followed Relinka down the stairs and into the dining room where everyone else was.

Knuckles walked up to a chair and it backed up itself. "What in the-"

"It was me… don't worry…" Relinka said, pointing to his head.

Knuckles nodded. "Wait… Relinka… some of the things that happen in this house… is that your telekinesis too?" he asked, suddenly remembering that Relinka was psychic.

"Some… very few… the other 'weird' things you find in this house… is commanded or done by the spirits themselves…" Relinka said.

Knuckles kept his eyes on Relinka. "Well… where are these 'spirits'? I can't see them or anything!" he said.

"They only show themselves to people they trust…" Relinka whispered.

"Well, who **do** they trust?" Knuckles's words just slipped out of his mouth.

Relinka shot him a dirty look. "Someone who is not nosy… not rude… someone who disrespects people's privacy and lurks around in the middle of th-"

"Enough, Relinka!" Kai said.

Knuckles sighed, sitting down in front of his food. Kai had a happy smile on her face as she sat down in an empty seat. A few eyes fell onto her.

"What? A girl can't be happy in front of breakfast?" she asked them all.

"No… a girl can't be **that** unusually happy on a day like this…" Vinny said.

Kai shrugged. "Well, I just had a talk with a close friend I have!"

Relinka rolled her eyes. "Just because you had a talk with **her** does not mean that you need to be **this** happy… anyway, let's say grace…"

Shadow spit out all the water in his mouth. "What? Praying? That's not part of the deal!" he yelled.

"Well, the departed won't like it!" Kai said with a smile, pulling Shadow up.

"No! I refuse to pray!" he yelled.

The house started darkening in a black fog. "Hey… what's going on?" Shadow asked slowly.

"Shadow… I think you should listen to Kai and Relinka… they know more about this place than us…" Max said.

Shadow sighed. "How can there be a fog indoors anyway?" he mumbled under his breath.

_Wait… Relinka and Kai… know about this house… and that story that Kai was telling Charmy last night… does it mean something?_ Knuckles's eyes roamed over to Kai and Relinka, with closed eyes, folded hands and soft mutters.

Knuckles then said a quick prayer to himself and watched the black smoke slowly fade away from the dining room.

_Hmm… a small talk with Kai or Relinka… or maybe both… I need to know what this place is… I don't know why but something's suddenly sparked my interest for this…I need to know… I'll even investigate every night until we leave if I have to…_

After lunch, some of them found nothing to do in the abandoned house.

"Hey, Kai… Relinka… why don't you tell us how you know this place so much?" Sonic asked. Rouge nodded in agreement, curious to know.

Kai and Relinka exchanged glances. "Well, okay… let's start with this… this… is the house of the dead… and it belongs to our village." Relinka said.

"And if our villagers find that our spirits are angered… then they-"

**Oooh! I stopped at this part again! Shoot! Well, review please! (maybe because it's important... that's why I'm not showing you...) Well, anyone wanna guess what the spirits do? It's kinda hard, but you don't HAVE to...  
**


	4. Finding the Cause of This

**Hi you guys! Sorry I haven't updated… I've been banned for a short period of time… but, I'm here now, right?**

**Vinny belongs to V.B., Max to DF, Relinka to GHH, and Kai to me…**

"Do what?" Knuckles asked angrily, awaiting the answer he needed.

"Please, calm down." Kai said almost inaudibly.

"What? I won't let the others suffer just because you won't tell me! I'll find out myself!" Knuckles shouted so loud that it reverberated throughout the house.

"Knuckles, you need rest, you're getting delusional." Sonic said, holding back a laugh. He then grabbed Knuckles's arms from behind, pinning him down with nowhere to go.

"Knuckles, have you noticed that you are the only one being disturbed by this house? I mean, everyone else is fine with it, right, you guys?" Vinny asked, sighing as he said this. "What do you guys think? I know that you all think the same thing. I mean, Knuckles is the only one that believes that something bad's gonna go on." he muttered.

Knuckles struggled to get free from Sonic's grip. "When in the world did you get so strong? Jeez, you think I have the credulity to believe every word you guys say?" Knuckles yelled out loud.

Knuckles's gaze fixed on Relinka. His silver eyes pointed at Knuckles's then he tipped his nose over to Sonic's as if to point something out. Knuckles turned to find that Sonic's eyes were a slow, dull gray color. Jerking his arms from Sonic, he examined everyone else's eyes to find the same slow, dull color.

"I'm guessing you found out that the spirits are angry at **you**, Knuckles... and as you've noticed, your friends are gone. I can help bring them back, but the spirits can easily take over my body, so, I can help you by telling you what to do and mending your friends' needs. First, you must find the one or the ones you have angered." Relinka said.

Knuckles nodded. Relinka then continued. "Here, this will help you out," A silver, shining more than Relinka's eyes appeared on his forehead as Relinka touched it. "It will help you communicate with the deceased, it doesn't work as well as being born with this power, but it works just as well… works like an alternate. However, you know as well as I that your friends' time limits are running short, their souls would be quickly evaporated by the spirits... so you must hurry."

Knuckles gave another confident nod. He then bolted up the stairs, coming down to a slow at the top of the staircase. A white figure had passed him, suddenly turning the corner. Knuckles suspected it to be Relinka but as his eyes scanned the downstairs, he found the white echidna mending to his friends.

Although he found the white object suspicious, he followed it toward the corner where Kai had disappeared. It quickly bolted toward the door.

"Wait, what are you doing? You'll crash into the door!" Knuckles whispered loudly, suddenly gasping at the fact that it went **through** the door. Knuckles went stiff in the fear that surrounded him. He shook his own cowardice off and walked over to the door that he was averted from. Knuckles, taking in a deep breath put his palm on the doorknob, shaking in both fear and freezing air.

He heard the soft weeps and sobs of a woman yet again. Determined to find out, he turned the doorknob slowly, anxious yet afraid at the same time. Finding that his arms were shaking, he folded them in front of his eyes.

_Get a hold of yourself, Knux, you aren't going in there until you stop worrying…_ He then wiped the drops of perspiration from his brow and handled the doorknob once more. He shook, but less than the last time. This time he pushed the door open to find something that astonished yet frightened him. He backed away slowly, eyes still gazed inside the room. He fell down from shock.

"What in the-? Knuckles, do this for yourself and your friends," he mumbled to himself.

Scurrying up to his feet, Knuckles grabbed hold onto the wall for support. Although he found no help from it, it kept him standing for the remainder of the period as he stared at the open door.

"It's-"

**721 words without counting this bottom thing… I guess it was good… but, I don't think it was scary… what do you think? I know I haven't been on in a while, but tell me if I lost my touch over that period of time… (I used some of my vocabulary words!)**


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